Chapter Twenty-Seven
OPERATION RESULTS
It was raining, quite appropriately for how the day had gone. Many lives had been lost, and many more were injured permanently. Some of the bodies were in the ground, while the rest was in front of the crowd.
To be more specific, they were on pikes in front of the crowd.
They had failed.
The Bloody Droplets had failed.
Because of that, the cost was too much, far too much.
"My god . . ."
"They shouldn't have tried it . . ."
Outside of the palace, on the walls surrounding it, wooden pikes had been installed, and bodies and heads were on them. Many people had gathered while they were being put up, and as more and more bodies and heads were pierced by wooden pikes, more and more people gathered.
". . ."
Dionysus, one of the many people in the crowd, found one of the heads he was looking for, but the other was nowhere to be seen.
The head of the one he found had smooth, silky grey hair, wrinkles decorating what was below the eyes. This face belonged to Leonardo, but the one he was actually keeping an eye out for was missing.
'Huh, I guess Daphne is still somewhere. At least, she's alive.'
He didn't play the white knight like Daphne assumed he would. No, Dionysus instead took the position of true neutrality, if not actually helping the royal family.
In essence, he had betrayed her trust.
'Sorry, but I can't step out onto the stage. The next generation can take the stage, my time is over.'
He couldn't act rashelly or recklessly, as either one could get him locked in that alternate dimension, which the lich also happened to be locked up in, forever. If that scenario ever played out, Dionysus would be suffering for eternity, or at least until someone freed him.
Though, the chances of anyone just being able to access the dimension, much less saving him, were very low.
'If that actually plays out . . .'
HOOH
PUFF
Even in this tense situation, Dionysus could only smoke. Out of everyone here, he was the only one who hadn't lost his cool at the sight. His age and experience were part of it, but his attitude and personality also made up a large portion of it.
'I'd rather die any amount besides infinite.'
With these thoughts supporting his basis for betraying Daphne's trust, Dionysus blended into the crowd, disappearing as if he was never truly there.
While all of this played out, a figure was standing on top of one of the surrounding buildings. The figure had a cape and hood on, the face unable to be seen because of the clouds and rain.
'I've found him, Veritas.'
--- SEQUENCE 2 ---
Cerberus, the left hand of the emperor, was currently kneeling at the side of the emperor's throne, which the incumbent emperor was currently sitting upon.
Someone unexpected had wanted to meet up with the emperor, and although Cerberus had wanted to deny the meeting even happening, the emperor was the only one who's decision mattered.
Unfortunately, the decision he had made was not in Cerberus' wishes.
"What an unexpected little guest. Well, say what you desire."
The person in front of the emperor was one of the many faces representing the Bloody Droplets, and this one happened to be Daphne. She was currently kneeling in front of the emperor with her father and mother next to her, and they were also kneeling.
"Please, spare our daughter of what's coming next!"
Daphne's father, one of the many nobles of the nation, slammed his head against the ground before the emperor. Before the one who led the nation, even a noble such as him could do nothing but beg.
Meanwhile, the mother was doing nothing of the sort. In fact, the look on her face made it seem as if she was dragged here against her own will.
If that actually was the case, Daphne wouldn't even be half surprised. While her parents were both loyal to the emperor, her mother was devout to the point of not questioning a single thing that came out of his mouth. In fact, that her mother was even doing anything for her sake at all shocked Daphne.
Though, upsetting as it was, what was to come next had already been engraved, in Daphne's mind, as something unstoppable.
"It's ok father, that I survive while every other person d-"
"SHUT UP DAPHNE!"
His desperacy couldn't be concealed by any mask that he put on his face. No matter who looked at the man, they would be able to turn around and tell their friends that he was willing to do anything at this point.
"Unfortunately, it's as your daughter has already stated. That she lives while everyone else dies would be terrible, and the only way to correct that is to send her off with them."
It was hopeless. The emperor either had no intention of letting her off, or he just didn't show it. In all likelihood, it was the first one.
"However, that isn't the case when I have a duty to fulfill as emperor."
Out of the blue, the emperor started speaking again. Along with that, the words that he said hinted at a possibility of surviving the wretched tragedy that was the royal invasion.
"You'll live to tell the tale. However, you, and you alone, will lose your noble privilege, and anything that belonged to you will be taken away. Besides clothes, your parents will kick you out with nothing."
'. . . Never mind.'
The words that came out of his mouth basically meant that Daphne would no longer have any power. Without any of her noble powers, she wouldn't be able to make any group that would even rival the Bloody Droplets in strength, raise the money to do so, or even get close to the goals she desired.
The king was letting her body survive, but her soul had been shattered as a result. What he just did was the equivalent of blowing out the last candle in a room filled with darkness.
"I . . . I understand."
It was hard to swallow, but her father would have to do it to allow his daughter to live. The fact that he even attempted to retaliate against his emperor at all was praiseworthy, but he even managed to pull out from under the emperor a favorable ending to all of this.
"As of today, Daphne Rosebelt is exiled from the Rosebelt family, never to be associated with them again. Her name will be changed to Daphne Lytric, a name befitting that of a non-noble. You will leave the court this very second as a commoner, and if you are to ever appear within it again, it will also be as a commoner."
"Now, leave my sight."
It was the emperor's decree, and Daphne didn't intend to resist. If her noble lineage had taught her anything, it was that the winners were the ones who decided what would happen. It didn't matter if the losers were the people in the right, fighting for justice, or if the winners were the people in the wrong, fighting for evil.
In the end, the winners can twist the story however they like. Now, the story was twisted into one where she would no longer have any authority.
"Understood, my emperor."
Daphne swallowed her pride before abruptly standing up and walking out of the courtroom. She was escorted by two guards all the way to the drawbridge, and until they saw her fully cross it, they watched her.
". . . Leonardo, what am I supposed to do now?"
She had lost it all. Her noble lineage, the group that carried her hopes, everything. She had hitten the very bottom of the societal pyramid in less than a three minute discussion with the emperor, and none of the people that could actually assist her were alive or with her.
Along with that, the man that she considered to be a second father, Leonardo, had also departed from this world.
'I don't know what I'm supposed to live for anymore . . .'
Her arms slumped by her side, she walked to a building and sat with her back up against it, as if she would immediately fall over if she didn't have anything supporting her.
All of these events transpired before any of the bodies or heads were put on wooden pikes. Daphne, who had sat for so long that the sunny day became a gloomy, rainy day, watched as the bodies and heads of many of her allies were put up on display.
That night, she would proceed to cry herself to sleep.